Higher prices ring changes in VFACTS segments

RISING vehicle prices has changed segmentation of VFACTS sales figures data administered by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), introducing ‘bracket creep’ to the new-car listings.

The effect of rising prices has also cannibalised individual segments, pushing many models into a higher price bracket and, in some cases, creating new or changed price brackets.

For example, recent price rises for the Honda Civic, Peugeot 308 and Volkswagen Golf have pushed them into the small cars above $40,000 bracket.

Just seven models are now listed in the sub-$40,000 small car segment, while the addition of cars into the $40,000-plus small car segment boosts its numbers to 15.

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) confirmed to GoAuto that it had made changes to the price structure and “will continue to monitor the marketplace and make changes where appropriate”.

“The FCAI, in consultation with our members and partners at S&P Global, made changes to VFACTS segmentation effective from January 2023,” it told GoAuto.

“This included the creation of a new Light Commercial ‘Pick up/CC>$100K’ segment.”

The FCAI said that the recent changes did not affect the ‘mico’ segment, but in the ‘light’ category, it has changed the price band up from sub-$25,000 to sub-$30,000. 

One movement here is the lifting of the Skoda Fabia to the Light $30,000-plus backet. Only one model of the Fabia currently is available which is $38,590 plus on-road costs.

There are only three models under $20,000 in the ‘light’ segment – Kia Rio (one variant) at $19,690 + ORC; MG 3 (two variants) from $18,990 drive-away; and one version of the Suzuki Baleno at $18,490 + ORC.

A Toyota Yaris, once the entry-level Toyota for commuters and budget motorists, is now priced from $24,640 + ORC while even the recently updated Mazda2 starts at $21,510 + ORC.

It is clear prices have risen – sometimes significantly – in the past couple of years, attributed to different models and trim grades and simply price increases all the way down from the production line.

The FCAI said that there were more significant movements of bracket creep in the small-car category.

As an example, in October 2021 the Golf starting price was $29,550; the Civic was $31,000; the Megane was $53,990 and the WRX was $40,990. Prices do not include on-road costs.

Movements in the $40,000-plus section of the ‘small’ car category include Golf (now from $35,190 + ORC), Civic ($47,200 + ORC), 308 (now $43,990 + ORC) and also the Renault Megane ($63,000 + ORC) and Subaru WRX ($44,990 + ORC).

Small cars are not alone. The ‘medium’ passenger car sector sees the Peugeot 508 move to the $60,000-plus bracket as the car now has a starting price of $63,431 + ORC. In October 2021 the previous – and less feature-rich – 508 started at $57,490 + ORC.

There are no changes to the brackets in the ‘large’ passenger car or ‘sports’ classes, while for ‘people movers’, the segment has moved its division from a $60,000 maximum threshold to $70,000 to include all multi-seat vehicles that fall under this figure.

It now has six entrants below $70,000 and seven above $70,000, creating a $70,000-plus bracket.

The FCAI has made no changes to the SUV ‘light’ segment, while the ‘small’ segment changes its division to $45,000 (previously $40,000). 

Movements in this section are the Genesis GV60 that goes from ‘medium’ SUV to ‘small’ SUV above $45,000. The Kia Niro also moves to ‘small’ SUV in the sub-$45,000 section.

In the ‘large’ SUV segment, the Jeep Grand Cherokee moves to the $70,000-plus bracket. It is now priced from $82,750 + ORC, compared to October 2021 when it was from $59,950 + ORC.

The FCAI has also changed the price band for the ‘upper large’ SUV segment with the threshold now $120,000, up from $100,000.

Movements in this bracket are based around the footprint size of the vehicle, meaning the Audi Q8 goes down from the ‘upper large’ SUV segment to the ‘large’ SUV segment in the $70,000-plus bracket.

On the other hand, the Land Rover Discovery comes up to the ‘upper large’ segment in the sub-$120,000 bracket.

There are changes to the ‘light commercial’ segment with a new pick-up/cab-chassis section priced at more than $100,000. This moves the larger, higher-value utes into their own bracket.

Among these are the Chevrolet Silverado, Chevrolet Silverado HD, Ram 1500, Ram 2500 and Ram 3500.